fauve

To 2924- I'd be worried how the coach phrased his/her response: 'possible to "get something in writing.." '

The wording sounds very non-commital, but the coach may be concerned about other recruits or your D's transcript in regards to the adcom.

Agree with riverrunner- your daughter needs to choose one school based on your current info, commit and show the love, for the dance to move forward. Good luck!

CountingDown

GWN, thanks for the link to the AI description. This would definitely explain the reaction S is getting when D-III football coaches find out he has a 230.

Runners2

Hi 2924 - I guess in the scenario you described above, one factor that the coach and admissions dept considers is the pool of recruits the coach has. In other words, if coach has a pool of highly academically qualified recruits, then he may be able to take a "good" student who is a "great" athlete. However, if he's already got a number of just "good" students, he may not have room for another and may only be able to get in a "great" student. In our case, our S was told by several coaches that he was their #1 academic recruit (though not their #1 athletic recruit, I assume) implying that they are keeping track of both issues and probably need to balance them. The admissions dept may also be balancing the needs of the different coaches at the school, so one sport that brings in great students may balance the needs of another sport who needs to bring in athletes with somewhat lower academic credentials. So the short answer is that I think it's almost impossible to know what any particular coach or admin dept is balancing. Asking about the possibility of a likely letter often pushes the coach to give you a little more info. about where your athlete stands in the recruiting pool. Good luck with this crazy process!

Ju_liaa

Well two girls in my school are already in at Brown amd Columbia for field hockey and lacrosse and our senior school year hasnt even started yet! I guess if they want you they let you know.

2924SW

What you are saying gels with what our H.S. coach said to me---that at least at this particular college, they "kind of average" the academic standing of the recruits. I am fairly certain our kid is top of athletic list, or second from top perhaps, but am equally certain our kid is not at top of academic list. Our kid has already told coach the school is #1 pick--kid was asked that right out of the box, in beginning of correspondence with coach, and responded with I love you best. Coach is emphasizing things like essays now.

2924SW

Bottom line--should we come right out and ask how many other recruits he is supporting for ED? I would feel awkward, because I feel like he would have told us that information if he wanted us to know that. He has made plenty of noise about wanting D, but . . . . I guess I am like all parents, loking for certainly before jumping into the abyss without a safety net. Kid loves the school and does not really worry about such stuff. Rolls with the punches.

3xboys

I don't think you need to ask about any other kids because the information won't really do you any good. Recruiting is such a fluid game - you can move up and down the coaches list depending on any number of factors - and from day to day. Just find out if the coach is willing and able to offer your D a likely letter before the ED Nov 1 deadline.

Runners2

I agree with 3Xboys - it's not so much an issue of how many other athletes are being supported as much as it is whether the coach is willing/able to pursue a likely letter for your athlete. If he is, great news and you don't care how many other athletes are getting likelies. If he can't give a likely, then you have to consider that either coach or admissions are not willing to pull out all the stops for your athlete and you may want to keep other schools in consideration.

riverrunner

It's kind of like musical chairs. For the Ivies, the athletes seems to circulate among their favorites during official visits, and when the music stops (on Nov 1, because the presence of EA/ED schools forces the RD's to issue likely letters at that time), everyone is looking for a seat. The good news for many sports is, there aren't all that many players compared to the number of chairs, so the real trick is figuring out where you want to be and the feeling being mutual. If you can find your chair before the end of October, sit down and smile.

You'll have to be blunt with me if my analogies are wearing thin....

foto2gem

S is starting his 2nd year at HYP. The way that it worked for his sport was that the coach expressed interest..the school he chose had to be his 1st choice before the coach would support him to admissions. He had the choice between 2 of the 3 but had to make a decision prior to the application being submitted for the likely letter. Don't know how all coaches and all sports work, but the coaches wanted a commitment from him first. He was not the top recruit so I am not sure what kind of recruitment practices happen for the very top guys. S had rank of #1 in high school of 325 and ACT of 34. He also could have gotten in on his own merit...although I am not sure that he would have gotten in without support..too many kids have similar stats.
Also..you have to ask the coach the tough questions after the official visit. I know kids who went on official visits and did not get the coach's support. Good Luck!!

riverrunner

^^^completely concur with foto2gem. In my D's case, the coach stated that, should she accept the likely letter, she would be accepted in EA and would be held to the EA commitment. Sounded a little scary, but worked wonderfully well. I've heard rumors of athletes who received more than one likely letter, but I would have to believe it would be for the #1 Ivy recruit in a sport in a given year. From my limited experience, what foto describes is correct for most Ivy-recruited athletes.

2924SW

The first communication from the coach months ago asked if she was prepared to make this school her #1 chioce (like Fotogem's kid), D said yes, and coach has been encouraging ever since, said to get grades/scores to him in Aug (done), and full application in as early as possible. Said once adcom could reveiw full app, an answer would be forthcoming, but that were limits as to how early they can issue such an "answer", in essence (I gather) an early early decisions. I'm guessing he;s talking about a likely letter--but hasn't used that term--is this what you think? D should ask. D is ranked #1 in country for her sport /age so she is pretty desirable to a coach. But, as parents of athletes, we all know these things can change in twinkling of eye.

treemaven

Pinning down that timing issue a little more, does the conversation about likely letters come after official visit (which will be early Oct) or can/should it occur before then? Coach had asked for all the academic info by summer and had it when the most recent conversations took place. That's when the official visit offer was extended.

PS I have ordered the recommended Chris Lincoln book.

2924SW

Is it importatnt to go on offifcial visit? We've been to the school before, hadn't even considered an "official visit". What would the reason be for it? Does it factor into decision making? I don't see why, assuming kid is happy with commitment they are making---is an "official visit" any differnt from a visit where you take the tour, talk to the coach, look around campus/geta feel, meeting some of the team members (kid already knows kids there)?

foto2gem

In our case S was offered official visits at all 3 schools. He attended 3 weekends in a row finishing by late Sept. Visit #1 resulted in coach telling him that he definitely wanted him..now the coach still had 2 more weeks of recruits coming to visit. Visit #2 resulted in coach being a little more vague. S liked both schools but definitely felt more comfortable with communication style of coach #1. Went to visit #3 where at the end, the coach basically said that he had his recruiting class. S then decided to commit to school #1. A week or so later #2 coach called and was upset that S did not commit there. I told him that his coaching staff's communication style left us wondering whether he was supporting him to admissions and we also felt that we needed a sure thing. We also began to realize that as long as he felt at home at the schools that we were possible "splitting hairs" and didn't want to end up empty-handed at the end. Our decision ended up being the perfect fit for him. He has had a great year and absolutely loves it. I hope that these details help you in some way. It isn't easy.